Alan Kawakami, DDS, PC

I suspected trouble was brewing upon the descent of my oldest son’s permanent teeth. Neither hubby’s nor my teeth required orthodontics, so I waited & watched, patiently, ever hopeful, in silence. Finally, Dr. Bloom (our pediatric dentist, who owes his bulging bank account to my kids’ crappy brushing techniques and stubborn resistance to ever floss) delivered the inevitable, wallet deflating news — braces were necessary.
I selected Dr. Kawakami, blindly, no preferences were given from Bloom, who remains annoyingly, politically indifferent during such discussions. So, left to my own decision making devices, I chose Kawakami based on the consonant cadence of his name.
The first time we met Dr. Kawakami, it was Friday, just before Halloween. The entire office staff, including Dr. K were festively attired in costumes, and not on a phoning-​it-​in level, either. Much to my sci-​fi son’s delight, Dr. K was Star Trek’s Spock and easily indulged him w/​Spock-​isms. We were putty in his hands after that initial interaction. Dr. K is a kind, conscientious person. He gently mapped out treatment option and easily shared his experienced opinions.
The grand total for the multiple tactics necessary to correct my son’s problems came to $ 4000, of which our insurance covered $ 1000 — yeah, our insurance suuuucks! Dr. K’s office offers a generous 10% discount for cash payment in full, so that brought it down to $ 2700. That includes all of the x-​rays, maintenance visits, wax, etc…
Dr. K’s staff is really friendly, happy, even. I actually buy that they like working there. His receptionists are not time Nazi’s, meaning, when we happen to run late — ok, I admit to an uncontrollable, genetic predisposition that unintentionally results in arriving a few minutes late, yes, people hate me for it, but, I digress — they don’t give us the evil eye, making us feel even guiltier, like every other desk jockey does. My son’s brace technician is Cheryl, he really likes her, considers her a friend, and barely complains even when she has to crank up the wire tension.
Tanner’s teeth are well on their way to becoming one of his best assets, thanks to Dr. K and his staff. They have made an expensive and tedious process sail by smoothly.